Strand guiding apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for withdrawing a strand from a horizontally disposed coil having guide means adapted to control the build up of torsional stress in the strand and to carry the stress along with the strand to avoid formation of kinks therein.

[451 Sept. 19, 1972 United States Patent Ebert et al.

[541 STRAND GUIDING APPARATUS 8/1954 Courtney.................. 5/1941Chapman,Sr........... .242/l28 [72] Inventors: Robert J. Ebert; WilliamH. Paxton,

[73] Assignee: Bethlehem Steel Corporation both of Johnstown,

Primary Examiner-Leonard D. Christian Attorney-Joseph J. OKeefe [22]Filed: Dec. 17, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 99,180

[57] ABSTRACT 1 Apparatus for withdrawing a strand from a horizontallydisposed coil having guide means adapted to control the build up oftorsional stress in the strand and to carry the stress along with thestrand to avoid forma tion of kinks therein.

[52] US. [51] Int. 49/00, B6511 49/00 [58] Field ofSearcb..................242ll28, 129-129.62

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Claims, 4 Drawing figures2,566,801 9/195 1 Jaclcsonetal............ 242/l28 PATENTED 3. 692 254INVENTORS Faber? J. Eben W/Wmm Paxfon Q 0' By STRAND GUIDING APPARATUSBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a vertical pay-offmachine for unwinding a single continuous strand from a stationary coilof rod or wire to feed a processing machine as e.g., a wire drawingmachine. Difficulties arise when a strand is withdrawn vertically from ahorizontally disposed coil, i.e., a coil having a vertically extendingaperture, because of the 360 twist imparted to each ring of the rod asit is lifted from the coil. This twist causes a build up of torsionalstress in the strand which stress carries along to the wire drawingmachine or other processing equipment. If this torsional stress is notcontrolled as by guide means, the strand tends to overturn and formkinks which cause costly and time consuming stoppages of the equipment.

Prior art pay-off devices comprise a cone or funnel shaped guide havinga die guide at the apex or discharge end to control the torsional stressin the advancing strand. These devices have not been entirelysuccessful. Although the twist is carried along with the strand thereis'always a torsional stress in the strand between the coil and the dieguide. When the strand develops slack the torsional stress will causethe loose strand to flip into one or more loops inside the funnel shapedguide. These loops are then pulled up and stop when they jam against thedie guide.

One major cause for slack or looseness to develop in the strand is thesudden springing up of one or more rings of the rod coil. This happenswhen the strand is temporarily caught in the coil then suddenly releasesas the pull is increased. When the rod springs up faster than the strandis being pulled the looseness and torsional stress allows the rod toflip into a loop.

A factor contributing to formation of the aforementioned loops and kinksis the constraining of the strand in the pay-off equipment as describedhereafter. The strand is pulled from the supply coil by a wire drawingmachine and moves through the funnel shaped guide mentioned above overdeep grooved first and second sheaves, then around three more guidesheaves and into the wire drawing machine. Because of the restrictedpath of the strand through the die guide and then bending 990 over thedeep grooved first sheave the torsional stress is constrained frommoving along with the strand. This causes a build up or increase oftorsional stress in the strand below the die guide. When this stress isgreat enough the strand flips into a small loop that is pulled into akink at the guide and stops the movement of the strand. The stiffness ofhigh carbon rods is so great that the kink must be cut out and the rodends butt welded together. The frequency of the kinks forming increaseswith an increase in the carbon grade of the rod.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide equipmentadapted to guide a single continuous strand from a horizontally disposedcoil which prevents the formation of kinks in the strand.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for controllingthe build up of torsional stress in a strand being withdrawn from ahorizontally disposed coil.

It is a further object of the invention to restrict the formation ofslack in the strand by blocking or dampening the sudden upward spring ofthe rings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant invention accomplishes theseobjects by providing pay-off apparatus comprising a funnel shapedframework positioned directly above a horizontally disposed coil andhaving means mounted therein to prevent the loops of strand from turningover in the framework. The apparatus further provides non-constrainingguide means for directing the strand from the framework to a processingmachine as e.g., a wire drawing machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe apparatus of the instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawingsand more particularly to FIG. 1 a detailed description of the inventionwill be given. The apparatus is seen to comprise generally ahorizontally disposed coil 10 having a vertically extending verticalaperture on carrier 11, a cone or funnel shaped guide framework 12,pay-off machine 13, roller 14, support arm 19 and sheaves 15, 16, 17 and18.

The funnel shaped guide framework 12 is preferably fabricated as an openframework from bars welded to one another in the form shown. Theframework is removably attached to the supporting arm 19 of the pay-offmachine 13 as by bolting with the wide entry end 20 of framework 12disposed directly above the top of the coil 10 and spaced therefrom adistance sufficient to allow free movement between the coil carrier 11and framework 12. A first guide means in the form of die guide 21similar in design to a wire drawing die having entry, bearing, andrelief portions resulting in a substantially curved surface 25and'having an opening sufficiently large to handle the strand S withoutrestriction thereof is positioned at the smaller discharge end 22 offramework 12 removably attached thereto to facilitate replacementthereof. A second guidemeans comprising a horizontal ring 23 havingradial spokes 26 is attached to the side members of framework 12 by anyconvenient means as e.g., welding and positioned intermediate the endsthereof preferably within the middle third of the length of theframework 12 for reasons that will be evident from the specific exampledescribed herein.

The horizontal ring 23 with its radial spokes 26 holds the larger ringsof the coil in a horizontal plane forcing them to properly unwind into asingle strand guided by the opening in the ring 23 and die guide 21.Without this loop restraining ring 23 the torsional stress in the rodwould cause the rings to flip into the loops that form kinks rather thanunwind into the single strand. The opening in die guide 21 whichreceives but does not restrict the strands being pulled therethrough issmaller in diameter than the opening of the horizontal ring 23 which issufficiently small to confine the loops of coil below the ring asdescribed hereinbefore The opening in ring 23 is of course smaller thanthe entry end 20 of the framework. Thus a progressively smaller channelis provided for confining the loops and guiding the strand S from thecoil 10. It has been found that the opening of ring 23 should be aboutone-fourth the diameter of the entry end 20 of framework 12 effectivelycontain the loops in the framework 12 below the ring 23.

The twisting of the strand S as the loops straighten out above the coilas hereinbefore described and as will be understood by those skilled inthe art imparts a torsional stress in the strand S which is carriedalong with the strand S through the guide framework 12 emerging from dieguide 21 at the discharge end 22. A wide faced small diameter flangedroller 14 is mounted above the die guide 21 opening with the peripheryof the roller 14 offset from the die guide 21 opening in the directionof the strand S travel. A deep grooved guide sheave 15 is mounted on thesupport arm 19 of the pay-off machine 13 above and to the rear of roller14. The curved opening 24 of die guide 21 forms a pivot point aroundwhich the emerging strand S starts forming in a natural are passing overthe face of roller 14 in what amounts to point contact and proceedingover the sheave 15, thence around sheaves 16, 17 and 18 and onto thewire drawing machine (not shown). Guide means 24 is provided to keep thestrand confined in the groove of sheave 15. The wide faced roller 14eliminates the very restricted path the strand S was forced to maintainin prior art devices. The roller 14 permits the strand S to make a wideangle of movement through the die guide 21 and over the roller 14. Thestrand moves back and forth across the full width of the face of roller14 for each ring of the strand 8 paid off the coil. This allows thetorsional stress to carry along with the strand S rather than accumulateand form loops resulting in kinks and stoppages of the strand. The twistbuildup in the strand S is thus effectively controlled.

The following specific example describing a typical installation forwithdrawing a single continuous strand S from a horizontally disposedcoil will serve to emphasize the novel features of the instantinvention. A coil of nine-thirty-seconds inches rod with an CD. ofapproximately 54 inches and an ID. of approximately 40 inches is placeddirectly beneath the guide framework 12 of the pay-off machine 13 withthe central aperture of the coil 10 in alignment with the vertical axisof the framework 12 and with the top of the, carrier 11 spaced 7 "960inches from the bottom or entry end 20 of framework 12. The horizontalring 23 is positioned in the middle third of the framework 12 so thatthe distance between the top of the coil 10 and the ring 23 isapproximately one diameter or as in this example about 54 inches. Theopening in the ring 23 is 8 inches or approximately one-fourth thediameter of the entry end 20 of framework 12 which is 32 inches. The

distance between the ring 23 and die guide 21 at the discharge end 22 is18 inches or about one-third the depth of the guide framework 12. Theopening in the die guide 21 is a half inch hole which receives but doesnot restrict the rod or strand being pulled therethrough. The optimumposition for the center of the 3 inches diameter wide faced flangedroller 14 was found to be 10 inches above the die guide 21 and offsetfrom the die guide 21 in the direction of travel of strand S about 5 V4inches. The position of the center of the first deep grooved sheave 15is 53 inches horizontally and 11 [5/16 inches verticall from the centerof roller 14. The range of coils tha have been successfully processed onthe apparatus herein described include coils of 48-54 inches OD. and36-40 inches ID. and 30 inches l.D. patented wire.

Both low carbon and high carbon rods have been handled successfully inthe apparatus.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for guiding a strand of wire during withdrawal from a coilincluding in combination a coil support means and a funnel shaped guidemember in axial alignment with and spaced from said coil and said coilsupport means, the improvement comprising:

said funnel shaped guide member having an open entry end, a dischargeend with an opening smaller than said open entry end, and at least onering shaped member for the passage of said strand therethrough mountedwithin said funnel shaped guide member intermediate and in axialalignment with said open entry end and said discharge end and having anopening with a diameter smaller than the diameter of said funnel shapedguide member at the point of mounting of said ring shaped member.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said funnel shaped guidemember comprises a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinallyextending bars and said open entry end and said opening of saiddischarge end are defined by annular members connected to said bars.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the diameter of said openentry end of said funnel shaped guide member is substantially equal tothe diameter of said coil, said ring shaped member is about one-fourththe diameter of said open entry end and is mounted in the middle thirdof said funnel shaped guide member.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 further including a wide faced rollermounted above said discharge end of said funnel shaped guide member withthe periphery of said roller offset from said opening of said dischargeend in the direction of strand travel.

1. Apparatus for guiding a strand of wire during withdrawal from a coilincluding in combination a coil support means and a funnel shaped guidemember in axial alignment with and spaced from said coil and said coilsupport means, the improvement comprising: said funnel shaped guidemember having an open entry end, a discharge end with an opening smallerthan said open entry end, and at least one ring shaped member for thepassage of said strand therethrough mounted within said funnel shapedguide member intermediate and in axial alignment with said open entryend and said discharge end and having an opening with a diameter smallerthan the diameter of said funnel shaped guide member at the point ofmounting of said ring shaped member.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1wherein said funnel shaped guide member comprises a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced longitudinally extending bars and said openentry end and said opening of said discharge end are defined by annularmembers connected to said bars.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2wherein the diameter of said open entry end of said funnel shaped guidemember is substantially equal to the diameter of said coil, said ringshaped member is about one-fourth the diameter of said open entry endand is mounted in the middle third of said funnel shaped guide member.4. Apparatus according to claim 3 further including a wide faced rollermounted above said discharge end of said funnel shaped guide member withthe periphery of said roller offset from said opening of said dischargeend in the direction of strand travel.